Learning mechanics

[ChrisHelvey]

Hi all, As an aging (almost 50) returning graduate student, my class is doing a study of learning about learning in informal settings, like... your driveway. My guess is that most people here are self taught like me. Bloody knuckles wrenching as a teenager and then later, much more in-depth Internet study on the physics of internal combustion.

I would appreciate any input anyone has about their experience of learning mechanics. Any formal training? Did it really teach you? Any particular references that helped you the most? Also, we all know wrenching can be challenging, so, what keeps us going back and working on these things again? Is it JUST about saving money (extrinsic value) or is there a real sense of pride in doing it yourself (intrinsic value?)

Anything you have to offer will be helpful in my study. Everything is anonymous (outside this forum.) Plus, it can be an interesting thread.

 

[killj0y]

Hi all, As an aging (almost 50) returning graduate student, my class is doing a study of learning about learning in informal settings, like... your driveway. My guess is that most people here are self taught like me. Bloody knuckles wrenching as a teenager and then later, much more in-depth Internet study on the physics of internal combustion.

I would appreciate any input anyone has about their experience of learning mechanics. Any formal training? Did it really teach you? Any particular references that helped you the most? Also, we all know wrenching can be challenging, so, what keeps us going back and working on these things again? Is it JUST about saving money (extrinsic value) or is there a real sense of pride in doing it yourself (intrinsic value?)

Anything you have to offer will be helpful in my study. Everything is anonymous (outside this forum.) Plus, it can be an interesting thread.

Well i'm always learning and the internet has been an invaluable tool. DIY, and how-tos helped me much more than chilton manuals and haynes manuals. Plus they are free and more up to date. Also actually wrenching has taught me a lot. Learning from my mistakes is a great way to learn. I plan on going to school once im done with my major just because i want to. plan on doing auto mechanics, diesel mechanics, hvac, welding, etc for fun and to just learn

 

[brinker88]

Best thing that ever taught me is reading, THEN hands on. If I see something done, I can usually do it, with a couple tweaks of my own making it better (for me).

I was self taught. My father was a carpenter. No one else in the family was into wrenching. I bought an 86 F150 that had problems and I learned to fix them myself to save money.

With todays vehicles though, you really DO need a college education, preferably in electronics and computer tech.

 

[killj0y]

Best thing that ever taught me is reading, THEN hands on. If I see something done, I can usually do it, with a couple tweaks of my own making it better (for me).

I was self taught. My father was a carpenter. No one else in the family was into wrenching. I bought an 86 F150 that had problems and I learned to fix them myself to save money.

With todays vehicles though, you really DO need a college education, preferably in electronics and computer tech.

funny thats what im going to school for. And i enjoy wrenching plus like you it saves me money. If i had to pay i'd never have a working vehicle since i couldnt afford it. I also am learning several other things like plumbing, electrical. Bout the only house call i've had to make in recent years is to have my septic tank emptied lol.

 

[adsm08]

I started out knowing nothing. I mean I had trouble changing oil, and what little I did know was almost 20 years out of date. I started my first job as an oil goon in 2006, up to then I had only worked on my 87.

My formal schooling was invalubale in getting me to be able to understand the basics and to get started workiong, but I have learned far more in the last two years of working full time than I did in my first two years going between the classroom and the shop.

As for why I keep going back at it with my own cars, well the wife's is still under warranty, so I get paid. My 87 and 88, most of the guys who know them as well as I do either work with me or are long retired, so I am not going to let anyone else touch them since I won't pay one of my co-workers to fix my cars for me.

 

[doorgunner]

50 years old! I have wrenches older than you! Anyhow, I look back at those carburators with those state-of-the-art new -fangled electirc choke/vacuum-operated secondary/A/C electric idle solenoid/PVC valve and think.......

Man! I had it easy back then!

Now I immediately go to the web to read up before I repair my wife's car....

as for my vehicle....it NOW has a carb/mechanical distributor....in 10 years I'll rebuild the carb for $35 & put some lube on the dist. counterweights.....

just replaced $3,000 worth of failed electric stuff on my wife's car.....well actually the dealership did the work---IT WAS STILL IN WARRANTY

(I did take courses thru the dealership that I worked at....learned a lot...used Chilton manuals for driveway repairs....keep my laptop ready for anything else---like a side-view mirror that is leaking oily fluid onto the door...!)

 

[shane96ranger]

I'm not what I'd call a mechanic.... but I can tell you that I know more than some of the guys that have worked on my vehicles who call themselves mechanics.

I used to watch my Dad as a kid, which is now laughable because he scabs things together (just found electrical tape patching a hole in the wiper fluid line on his Taurus). Then when I bought my Mustang, I got into the Mustang mags. I started reading there, and watching my friends Dad who builds hot rods.... and the rest is history. I've done some hairy projects (to me) and came out on top.

Along with reading and comprehension... the right tools are needed.

EDIT: I envy these guys like DG that know carbs. Wish i would have learned more on them.

Sent from a Commodore 64 using a 300 baud modem

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I started out 35 years ago as a teen reading hot rod and other mags and building a 68 Torino. Then 4 years ago the bug hit me again. A friend was building an offroad race truck and I helped out, then built my own low buck effort. It's so much quicker learning with the net and forums than it used to be. I also buy books and manuals as I like reading with something in hand, and not a laptop or phone.

Richard

 

[richlands55]

I attended auto. mech. school many, many years ago. Got a job in a garage. Got stuck with all the heavy work[no better way to learn]. Later in the profession, I did mostly drivability problems. Best feeling in the world to fix a problem with a vehicle that a customer has had to other garages and they couldn`t find the problem. Worst problems are intermittent problems. Customers can`t understand if you can`t duplicate the problem, you can`t fix it. Now as I`ve gotten older....old....my body is worn out, mainly from being twisted into positions it was never intended to. If I could go back and choose another profession? No, because I`m proud of the fact I could help people. What would the world do without auto techs....mechanics?

 

[hopster]

i took two years of auto mech in high school 1 of which was an apprenticeship to the dealer i am currently employed by. i then continued to work there as i attended a two year auto program at a community college. but after that i found the ford training to be much more useful. even with all that schooling i found experience is the best teacher.

 

[cvar]

No formal training, here. I think it's nurtured skills. As young kids, we were always encouraged to help Dad/Mom/Grandpa fix household stuff, straighten nails for reuse, fix fences, etc. Familial bonding? Without money for toys, we kids found old discarded bicycles & parts & had to figure out how to fix our own (necessity). Joy, pride & sense of accomplishment follows. That formed the basis of everything I do nowadays... Disassemble, figure out (guess) how it works, fix or replace what's broken, and reassemble. Ta-da! Just dive in! Start small, work up. It develops intuition & mechanical aptitude. Same as doing jigsaw puzzles. All my bros/sis have it. Curiosity helps. In HS, I also took some shop classes for my own edification. Just cuz. It was fun. Books helped w/ some car repairs. Internet is an awesome resource. For some reason, I enjoy learning how stuff works. Is that cause or effect? I dunno? Saving $$ is secondary. Yes, we saved many thousands $$$ over the years. Repairing stuff is a great hobby, and intrinsically hugely rewarding. More so in a team. It's just fun!

 

[FritzTKatt]

I had old vehicles and a haynes book. Grandpa had tools but wasn't into wrenching. He only changed oil and filters on the cars. I just had to learn the hard way and do things over again. Really the first few jobs i did were a timing belt/water pump on my old 2.3 and a passenger valvecover gasket on ma's 3.7l jeep. Read the book and figure out the rest. I like to do it, besides i'd be broke any other way. It's also a great feeling to have fixed X and Y for parts, when a pro would have you on the waiting list still. One other thing is the only local mech is always backed up a weekor so because people do trust his work, sometimes i go to him for his professional opinion

 

[Brownie Mobile]

Well everything i've learned has been in my driveway in that teenage wrenching phase ( seeing as im still a senior in high school) but most of the experience comes from simply going balls deep to a point where i absolutely have to get it back together or i dont have a running a vehichle. If i have 27 bolts all of different sizes i know i can put it back together some how even if it takes me a long time, this has taught me not only the one right way to do things but also all the other wrong ways you can do it. Thomas Edison once said something along the lines of, In his quest to make the lightbulb he discovered thousands of way not to make it. Thats my learning process and the best way i know how to do it, i use my manuals but for the most part its so convoluded i end up just figuring it out my self really. Hope that helped.

 

[shane96ranger]

To add to what Cvar said, I use it as a hobby anymore. I love being in a zone where I can think and be free from distraction. My Wife is good at letting me have my space while I'm working on the car - although I do get the "how much longer will you be?" question from time to time.

 

[Andy D]

The Marshfield Centre Garage was a 100 yards from my house. I saved up 5$ from my paper route and bought a very tired 53 Ford. I was 10 yrs old. I had to put on a lot of parts to get it running. When it ran, I taught myself to drive it on the dirt roads of a farm. I've been working on my own cars ever since. I dont know how much longer that I can find cars I can / want to work on. My daily drivers are 25 yrs old.